by On Tuesday, Tarrant County commissioners may trim Election Day voting places by over 100 and early voting venues by half for the November election.
Residents of Tarrant County would have 24 early voting places if commissioners adopt the revisions, compared to 51 for the 2024 presidential election. The majority of them would be in northeastern suburban areas and cities beyond the 820 Loop.
The proposal presented to commissioners would reduce the number of voting places on election day to 214 from 349 last year. The county had 323 open voting stations on election day and 48 early voting venues for the 2021 November election.
Requests for comment were not answered by Tarrant County officials from the office of County Judge Tim O. Hare or the election administration office.
According to Brandon Rottinghaus, a professor of political science at the University of Houston, fewer voting locations translate into fewer voters.
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According to Rottinghaus, who has researched poll site and its effect on turnout, if a polling station is moved further from a voter’s home, they are less likely to cast a ballot because it is more expensive. The price could be your petrol or your time.
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In addition to a special election in some areas of Tarrant County to replace former state senator Kelly Hancock, a Republican from North Richland Hills who resigned from the Legislature to take up the role of temporary comptroller for the state, the November ballot has a number of proposed constitutional amendments. The majority of Tarrant County’s northern and western regions, including White Settlement, Haltom City, and Keller, are represented by Texas Senate District 9.
In the Tom Vandergriff Civil Courts Building, the commissioners’ court meets at 10 a.m.
Proposed 2025 November election early voting locations:
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West Green Oaks Boulevard
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Northeast Green Oaks Boulevard
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Green Oaks Boulevard
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East Abram Street
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Sandy Beach Road
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Forest Ridge Drive
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San Angelo Avenue
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Roberts Road
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East Glendale Street
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Southeast Loop 820
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Granbury Road
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Beaty Street
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North Beach Street
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Basswood Boulevard
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Premier Street
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Burnett Street
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West Pioneer Parkway
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Municipal Way
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Bear Creek Parkway
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Lake Worth Boulevard
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East Broad Street
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West Mcleroy Boulevard
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Main Street
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White Settlement Road
2024 November election early voting locations:
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South Center Street
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Northeast Green Oaks Boulevard
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Green Oaks Boulevard
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West Green Oaks Boulevard
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East Abram Street
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Southeast Parkway
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West Nedderman Drive
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Sandy Beach Road
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Forest Ridge Drive
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San Angelo Avenue
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Fagan Drive
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Roberts Road
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East Glendale Street
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Roosevelt Drive
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West Midway Drive
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Wichita Street
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Miller Avenue
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Horne Street
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Northeast 35th Street
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Granbury Road
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Golden Triangle Boulevard
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Beaty Street
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James Avenue
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Northwest 18th Street
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East Rosedale Street
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Welch Avenue
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Frazier Avenue
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Basswood Boulevard
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Marine Creek Parkway
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Campus Drive
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Premier Street
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Burnett Street
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Stadium Drive
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Camp Bowie Boulevard
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New York Avenue
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West Pioneer Parkway
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Municipal Way
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Friendly Lane
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School House Road
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Brookside Drive
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Grapevine Highway
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West Harwood Road
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Bear Creek Parkway
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West 3rd Street
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Lake Worth Boulevard
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East Broad Street
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Glenview Drive
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Bursey Road
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Main Street
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White Settlement Road
Every year, commissioners choose the polling places. The court’s obligation to establish at least one polling station in every election precinct is mentioned in the county’s briefing to commissioners regarding the vote, but the reduction of sites is not mentioned.
Commissioners anticipate tomorrow s vote
County Commissioner Manny Ramirez stated that he is not in favor of removing historically heavily used sites and that he would be attending Tuesday’s talks seeking Election Administrator Clint Ludwig’s justification and scientific methodology for the revised list.
“There must be a scientific formula for where to put these voting sites,” he stated. It ought to be based on population and close to other sites.
Ramirez stated that he had concerns over a number of the planned voting locations, particularly the well-known Como Community Center polling place.
In response to a question on whether he would vote against his two Republican colleagues, Ramirez stated that history has shown that he bases his decisions on knowledge and facts rather than emotions.
After O Hare asked that eight early voting locations be taken down, a move that protesting students claimed amounted to voter intimidation, Ramirez voted in 2024 alongside Democrats and previous Republican Commissioner Gary Fickes to preserve the sites on college campuses.
O Hare was the only person to vote against the 4-1 decision to preserve the college voting locations, claiming that some of them were too close to other polling stations.
Democratic Commissioner Alisa Simmons claimed in a video put on Xposted Sunday night that O Hare’s Tuesday vote was his second effort to close the collegiate voting locations.
Simmons stated that this has nothing to do with cost-cutting or logistics. In order to win and attempt to hold onto power, Republicans must cheat.
Once it goes down, it stays down
This November’s constitutional elections will have fewer polling sites than presidential and midterm elections since some counties fluctuate year to year in terms of their polling place counts, according to Rottinghaus, the professor of political science. However, he stated that Tarrant County’s reduction seemed to be aggressive.
According to him, once a county’s polling location count declines, it typically stays that way.
“You’re going to see that same number continue for at least the near term once the number slips,” he said.
Mia Hall, a member of the Fort Worth City Council who represents the Como area and southwest Fort Worth, sent out a news release to her district on Monday asking people to sign up to testify against the attempt at the meeting.
Without polling places close by, many citizens may find it difficult to cast their ballots, especially those who depend on public transportation, work several jobs, or have mobility issues, Hall told the Report in a statement.
Hall criticized the removal of voting stations from the mostly Black or Hispanic neighborhoods of Lake Como, Southside, and Northside in Fort Worth.
Removing these communities’ polling places is just intolerable, as they have long battled for equal access to the voting booth, Hall said. Disenfranchising entire communities is unacceptable, even though I recognize the challenges of state laws and financial limitations.
Carlos Flores, a member of the Fort Worth City Council who represents the Stockyards and portions of northwest Fort Worth, including the Northside neighborhood, said the fewer polling places are a result of persistent concerns about poor voter turnout.
The various communities in his area, as well as those in south and east Fort Worth, are adversely affected by the proposed list, according to Flores. He went on to say that personal choices, a lack of polling places, and difficult voting processes are some of the reasons for low attendance.
About two months prior, the GOP-led court decided 3-2 along party lines to create new commissioner precinct boundaries, which would greatly raise the likelihood of a fourth Republican victory in 2026. Tuesday’s anticipated vote follows that decision.
For the November election, the deadlines for registering to vote and applying for a ballot by mail are October 6 and October 24, respectively. The period for early voting is October 20–31.
What s on the ballot this November?
The following 17 constitutional amendments, which were passed during the year’s legislative session, will be up for vote in Texas:
- Several amendments boosting the homestead exemption, including one raising the exemption from ad valorem taxation by a school district from $100,000 to $140,000.
- Permanently prohibiting the state government from imposing any tax on capital gains, whether realized or unrealized.
- Under specific conditions, authorizing judges to deny bail to people charged with serious felonies, including murder, aggravated assault and human trafficking.
- Devoting up to $1 billion a year in sales tax revenue to a new Texas Water Fund to support water infrastructure projects.
- A clarification that a voter must be a United States citizen.
- Enshrining into the constitution the inherent right of parents to care for and make decisions about raising their children, restricting the authority of state and local governments to be involved in a child s upbringing.
During a special election:
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Residents of Texas Senate District 9 will see a special election to replace former state Sen.
Kelly Hancock
.
Editor’s note: Statements from political parties, elected officials, and political science specialists were added to this item on August 18, 2025.
Drew Shaw works for the Fort Worth Report as a government accountability reporter. You may reach him at shawlings601 or [email protected].
Decisions on news at the Fort Worth Report are decided without consulting our board members or sponsors. Find out more about our policy on editorial independence here.
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